color

Photoshop CS3 Mask box art

Photoshop Channels & Masks

Essentially a collection of luminance data that controls the transparency of an image, the modest alpha channel informs just about everything you do in Photoshop. and coming to terms with alpha channels (a.k.a. masks) is the most sure-fire way to boost the quality of your work in Photoshop. But masking isn’t easy. In fact, the elusive alpha channel has been described as the least understood feature in Photoshop’s enormous arsenal. Until now, that is. In Photoshop CS3 Channels and Masks, expert Deke McClelland blows the lid off the topic. Read more » 

List price: $149.95USD

Don't Fear the Lab Mode

My pastoral backyard

Episode 003: dekePod has been known to get a little crass at times. And, of course, I'm very proud of that. But this episode, I lift my mind from the gutter and send it merrily floating down a stream, a very real stream filled with imaginary colors that cuts through the backyard of a little world called Lab. Sound enchanting? Damn straight, it's enchanting! Here's the official marketing description: Read more » 

Stealth 'Shop, The Virgin Histogram

Robot nuts & bolts

Episode 002: In this second regular episode of dekePod, I pass along a technique of such magnitude, it will blow your mind. Because inasmuch as I every so often allude to another anatomical detail, the brain is what this video is all about. Not the "shorty" brain, but the "tally" brain. All the way upstairs, with the rotating bar and the fine dining. Here's the official marketing description: Read more » 

Kuler Now Cooler with Ability to Choose Colors from Photo

Deke didn't believe me the other day when I mentioned that Adobe's Flash-o-rific color-selecting gizmo, Kuler, could create a color palette based on a photograph. (Of course, now, he claims not to remember the conversation at all. It's his grueling schedule, not the Bombay Sapphire, I'm sure.)

But it's true, Deke. And relatively easy. Start at the Kuler page of Adobe Labs. Click Create at the top left, then choose Create from Photo. You can upload an image from your hard drive or from your Flickr account. Kuler has five "Moods" available for the creation of its trademark five-color theme: Colorful, Bright, Muted, Deep and Dark. Colorful seems to be the default, and you can create a Custom collection by moving any one or all of the five targets that Kuler picks to other spots on your image. Read more » 

Photoshop CS3 Lab box art

Photoshop CS3 Mastering Lab Color

Based on the device-independent CIE specification from 1976, Lab color is frequently misrepresented as a techy, labor-intensive color space. In fact, Lab color performs certain types of color modifications more quickly and with better results than RGB. In Photoshop CS3 Mastering Lab Color, Deke McClelland explores how to use Lab color "to make bad photographs great and great photographs even better." He demonstrates image manipulations that are best suited to Lab, and walks through a typical, non-destructive Lab correction. Read more » 

List price: $99.95USD